Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images The younger Splash Brother was willing to take a payout to join the Mavericks “Great teams get old and then get mediocre...they had their chance with the James Wiseman pick,” opined Zach Lowe on last night’s Free Agency Special while discussing Klay Thompson’s move to the Dallas Mavericks. For the Golden State Warriors, it is the end of an era. ESPN host Malika Andrews referred to them as “one of the greatest Big 3s of all time.” From a Spurs perspective, I take umbrage at the hype and language surrounding their telecast. I get it. This year bolstered a lackluster free agency. Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Pascal Siakam, Immanuel Quickly, and Obi Toppin all resigned with their respective teams, eliminating mouth-dropping moves from huge stars. Even LeBron James, arguably the biggest name in free agency in most years, was not only a lock to stay in Los Angeles, he was willing to take less to stack solid role players by his side. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White both had upgrades that were more interesting than some of the free agency talk. Paul George and Klay Thompson were the two biggest stars to make a move, so understandably, they have to reinforce what’s making headlines. But... To say Klay’s exit ends the Big 3? And to call Stephan Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green “one of the greatest” Big 3s? Not to diminish from what these men have accomplished. Curry and Thompson recalibrated the game. The entire NBA game had to adjust to their talent. They’re all amazing athletes, but they are not in the same class as Tim, Manu, and Tony. They also don't come close to the Magic, Kareem and Worthy. Not to mention Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman. How about Bird, McHale, and and Parish? Did we mention Kobe, Shaq, and Horry? And don’t discredit LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. And that’s just the best trios since the 1980s. Sure, the Warriors trio won more titles than LeBron’s Miami Heat, but let’s breakdown those Golden State titles runs. In 2015, the Warriors faced the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs went into the Finals without Kevin Love (one of their big three), and only had Kyrie Irving for one game. Many pundits agreed that the Finals MVP that year was LeBron James (who would have been the second Finals MVP to come from the losing team as Jerry West was named Finals in 1969 when the Lakers lost to the Celtics.) Which one of the Warriors Big 3 won 2015 Finals MVP? Andre Iguodala. In 2016, a fully healthy Cavaliers made a record-setting comeback from 3-1 down in the Finals to upset Golden State in their arena, showing what 2015 could have looked like had the Cavs been full force. As the story goes, Draymond Green called Kevin Durant from the parking lot and told him the Warriors needed him. In 2017 and 2018, the Warriors won back-to-back titles. The MVP? Kevin Durant. If Durant hadn’t joined the Warriors, would they have even made it to thoseFinals? We will never know. in 2019, the Warriors made the fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, but injuries to Durant and Klay Thompson left them short-handed and the Toronto Raptors won their first title. It was 2022 when the Warriors would make their next appearance. This time, two-mile league MVP Steph Curry was awarded the Finals MVP for his efforts in bringing Golden State’s fourth title in eight years. Four titles in eight years is an amazing feat, but without Kevin Durant, the odds significantly drop to the point where the Warriors most likely win only the one title against the injury-riddled Cavaliers. So Klay Thompson leaving isn’t the end of the Warriors Big 3. Their Big 3 ended five years ago when Kevin Durant’s Achilles tore in the Finals, and with that, their dynasty was already in question. As Richard Jefferson shared on last night’s special, he greeted Thompson coming off an elevator on Christmas Day and Klay made a comment that the Warrior’s needed to pay him. He was unhappy, he turned down the Warrior’s offer, he went all-in on himself, and he walked away discontent. My friend (and fellow Pounder) Bruno Passos posted this when the writing on the wall was visible in San Francisco. https://t.co/NqKEC4YRer pic.twitter.com/7y6CTG2GUu— Bruno Passos (@bouncepassos) June 29, 2024 The difference between Klay going to Dallas and Tony Parker going to the Charlotte Hornets — Tony willingly handed the mantle to Dejounte Murray and moved on because he wanted more time on the court. It was never apparent that Parker felt rejected or was bitter about the move. That was what a player of Thompson’s caliber deserved. He did not get that, and that is a shame. But let’s not exaggerate the move, the Warriors season ended with them in tenth place and they were knocked out of the play-in by the Sacramento Kings. Since the shortened pandemic year, the Warriors made the playoffs twice and did not make it four times, making the 2022 title look like more a fluke than a dynasty. Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here. Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.